Pillow Talk
by Elementary Magpie
Summary: Nine nights, after.


Disclaimer: I do not own or claim any rights in Haven nor intend any profit or copyright infringement.

Author's Note: Nine nights, after. Set during the last weeks of a hypothetical end of the series. This is dedicated to Damara, who asked me to write an Audrey-Nathan romance. Although this probably isn't quite what you had in mind.

**Pillow Talk**

1.

The first night, after, when their breathing had slowed enough to talk, he said into the pillow by her ear, "I'm sorry. That was selfish."

She gave a deep laugh and slapped his shoulder. "Nathan Wournos! That totally didn't suck."

When he turned a hopeful face toward hers, she gave him a smile that he'd never seen before. So he gave her back a smile that she'd never seen before, either, and rolled off onto his back, pulling her with him so that she lay with her head on his chest, his chin resting on her hair.

After a while, she said, "I'm sorry I made you wait so long."

He kissed the top of her head. "You're worth waiting for," he said, stroking his hand down her back, palm and fingers flattened out against her skin like a blind man learning his world.

She stretched lazily against him and gave a surprised chuckle. "No waiting for _me_, though," she grinned and moved to shift all the way on top.

But he flipped her onto her back and put his mouth on the pulse in her neck. "No? Maybe you should learn how," he murmured low against her skin and began to kiss his way slowly, slowly, south.

2.

The second night, they lay spooned together, listening to the faint sound of the pop music on the jukebox in the bar below and idly twining their fingers together, her left hand and his, playing over and under and around.

The song changed, and she began to wave their joined hands back and forth to the beat.

"Audrey, what are you doing?"

"What? I really like this song."

"You're kidding."

"And what would you prefer? Guitar heroes? Seriously, am I going to get to your house and find a whole lot of Van Halen?"

"What's wrong with the classics?"

"Man, it's a good thing you have other talents, because your taste in music is almost a deal breaker."

"That so?"

"In fact, perhaps you'd better remind me…"

He did.

3.

The third night, their heartbeats had barely slowed to normal when both of their phones buzzed and skittered across the table in an all-points call. It was the first time she'd ever heard him really swear, and they grabbed the wrong badges without realizing it on their way out.

They found out later, embarrassingly, while taking witness statements. The entire Haven PD knew about it by noon. Stan won the pool.

4.

The fourth night, they lay on their backs side by side, not touching.

"Stop it," she continued, angry. "I won't compare you to Duke."

He said, not looking at her, "If you want me to step aside, so that you two-"

"No, I don't want you to step aside! I'm not choosing between you. I need you both. I don't know why, but I know that it's important. So you, and Duke, are just going to have to deal with it."

She lay glaring across at him, watching the tense line of his jaw slowly loosen as he thought about it. Eventually, he sighed and turned his head to look at her. "OK then. But I draw the line at threesomes."

She laughed in relief and rolled over to put her forehead against his. "So do I."

5.

The fifth night was right after the fear and adrenaline of the fight at Wilson's Cove, and they didn't say anything at all. It occurred to her then that there were benefits to having a lover who was a man of few words.

6.

The sixth night, as she mapped the planes of his face with her palm and his fingers explored the texture of her hair, she had a curious thought. "So, Nathan, what are your kinks?" she asked.

His hand stilled. "What?"

"You know, your secret, hidden sexual fantasies?"

Every muscle in his body went tense against hers. "A week of sleeping with Duke and you're talking about kinks? Typical."

"You spend way too much time in my bed talking about Duke. Should I arrange for the two of you to have some time alone together?"

"I'll pass."

"Not on answering the question." She laid her cheek along his as she'd learned that he liked, put her mouth close to his ear. "Come on," she whispered. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

Eventually he told her, in a voice so quiet she could barely hear it, even close as she was.

She laughed, and he jerked his face away. "So what's yours, Parker?" he snapped.

But she was smiling down at him in wicked anticipation. "The exact same thing."

"Really."

"No kidding."

"Prove it."

So she did.

7.

The seventh night, he asked her to move her hand away from his shoulder because it hurt. "I forgot that about dislocations," he said.

"I can't believe you were that stupid. You could have been killed."

"Don't worry. It didn't hurt."

"Crap. You just can't feel it." She wrapped her arms and legs tight around him, as if she could hold him back from the current of an unthinkable timestream. "If anything happens to you…we won't get any more resets, Nathan," she whispered into his neck.

And found that he was holding her just as tightly. "You could have been killed too."

"That's my job."

"It's _our_ job, and nobody is dying."

"I'm not losing you."

"You won't. No matter what." He held her a little away so that he could look at her. "I love you, Audrey," he said, eyes clear, face unshadowed.

Her own pulse in her ears was suddenly so loud that she thought she might never hear another thing again. "Shhhh," she said, pulling him back and putting her mouth on his.

8.

The eighth night, the air was cool, his room was chilly, and though his body spooned against hers was very, very warm, her toes were cold. "Hey, will you pull up that quilt?"

"I'm sorry. Is it cold?"

"How do you ever know when you should get under the covers?"

"Usually there's no one to distract me into pulling them off in the first place."

She sighed, content. "At least you don't hog the blankets."

She felt him smile into her neck. "Now who's talking about Duke?"

9.

The last night was only an hour, snatched before they had to load the guns, put on the Kevlar, and meet Duke downstairs to drive to the Point for the final confrontation with Them, waiting with shotguns and fire.

She turned restless in his arms, overthinking. "What if this doesn't work?"

"It will work. You figured it out soon enough, this time."

"But what if I'm wrong?"

"You're not wrong. We all agree. And you won't fail. _We_ won't fail."

She studied his face for a long time, searching. He gave her that serene and unshadowed smile. "I trust you, Audrey."

She set her jaw, gave a quick nod, and said, "OK, let's do this."

He leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips, then climbed out of the bed and walked across the room, reaching down to pick up his clothes as he went.

For just a moment before doing the same, she turned and buried her face in the pillow. It still smelled like him. "I love you too," she whispered into it.

- end -


End file.
